BHUBANESWAR: A team of experts from the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) will soon conduct a survey for seismic microzonation mapping of the entire Bhubaneswar Development Plan Area (BDPA). Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) officials on Tuesday said the State Capital is one of the leading cities in the country identified by the Ministry for survey and seismic microzonation mapping that subdivides a region into smaller areas having different potential for hazardous earthquake effects.
The BDPA area is in Seismic Zone-III. BDA officials said the risk has now multiplied with two possible fault lines passing through the geological area. “The survey will be beneficial for the City as it will be a guiding factor to regulate construction activities and help in disaster management and preparedness,” the officials said.
The survey team will consist of ADM, Bhubaneswar, a representative of IIT-Bhubaneswar, BMC City Engineer and a senior official from the Science and Technology department. The State Government has formed a committee under the chairmanship of BDA Vice-Chairman to ensure that seismic mapping of the entire plan area is done effectively.
As part of the survey, a meeting was held in BDA office to chalk out the blueprint for the survey. Officials said another round of meeting will be convened soon to facilitate the Ministry of Earth Sciences to conduct the detailed survey smoothly. Sources said the Central team has selected 1100 odd points from the entire BDPA area after dividing the plan area into smaller areas to conduct the survey.